Many customers have limited knowledge about cosmetic packaging materials and may not be clear on the uses and characteristics of glass bottles, tubes, and plastic bottles in cosmetic packaging. Today, let's briefly explore these differences.
I. Glass
Glass bottles are mainly used in cosmetics for skincare products (creams, lotions), perfumes, essential oils, and nail polish. Their capacities are typically small, usually below 200ml, and glass bottles larger than 200ml are rarely used in cosmetics. Glass bottles can be categorized into wide-mouth and narrow-neck bottles. Solid creams are generally stored in wide-mouth bottles, which can be sealed with aluminum caps or plastic caps, and the caps can be customized with color spray or other effects. Emulsions or liquid formulations are usually stored in narrow-neck bottles, often with pump heads. If a cap is used, it should have an inner seal. Liquid products may have small hole inner seals, while thicker lotions may have larger hole inner seals.
Common configurations include:
Cream Jar Series: Glass bottle body with a double-layer plastic cap (typically ranging from 10g to 50g).
Essence Series: Glass bottle body with a plastic or aluminum pump head (capacities from 20ml to 100ml).
Toner Series: Glass bottle body with a plastic inner seal and an outer cap (usually 100ml or more, can be equipped with a pump head).
Essential Oil Series: Glass bottle body with an inner seal, large cap or dropper, aluminum cap.
II. Tubes
Tubes come in single-layer, double-layer, and five-layer variants, each offering different characteristics in terms of pressure resistance, barrier properties, and texture. For example, five-layer tubes have an outer layer, inner layer, two adhesive layers, and a barrier layer. They excel at preventing the infiltration of oxygen and odorous gases, while also preventing the scent and active ingredients from escaping.
Common configurations include: Tube + Cap
Tubes are often made from PE (polyethylene) plastic and can be categorized based on product thickness into single-layer (cost-effective) and double-layer (better sealing performance). They can also be categorized by shape into round tubes (common and cost-effective) and flat tubes, also known as irregular-shaped tubes (require secondary joints, higher cost). Caps for tubes can include screw caps (available in single-layer and double-layer, with the latter often featuring electroplated caps for a more refined look, commonly used in professional lines) and flip-top caps.
III. Plastic Bottles
Plastic bottles are typically made from materials like PP, PE, K-resin, AS, ABS, acrylic, and PET. They are commonly used for thicker cream jars, bottle caps, bottle seals, gaskets, pump heads, and dust caps, all of which can be produced through injection molding. PET blow molding involves a two-step process, with the preform being injection molded and the final product being blow molded. Thinner-walled bottles for emulsions and cleansers are typically made through blow molding.
These materials have various properties suitable for different cosmetic packaging needs.
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